Dobey's Secretary
by sandybeliever
Summary: POV of Dobey's assistant and how she views our guys


Dobey's Secretary

My name is Beth, I was secretary to Captain Harold Dobey of the Bay City Policy Department. I started the job late in 1975 at the age of 53 after my husband had an affair with his secretary and I divorced him. Ironic, isn't it? After all was said and done, the alimony wasn't enough to live on so I was back in the working world. My kids were grown and on their own so this got me out of the house.

When the outgoing secretary, Susan, trained me, she told me to have fun with the 'guys,' as she called them. "For the most part, they are all great guys," she told me. "The detectives are an intense group and I think you will especially like one particular pair." I asked her what she meant and she just smiled and said, "You'll see."

After spending a few hours with Captain Dobey on my first day, he brought me into the squad room and introduced me to a few men that were there. Before heading back into his office, he stopped at the two desks closest to his office and sadly placed his hand on one of the chairs. Both desks were unoccupied at the time so I was not sure why he did that. I headed to lunch and forgot about it.

My desk was on the far side of the Captain's office and near the file room. It was also along the hall that led to the restrooms so I did see a lot of the officers pass by during the day – especially those that love to drink coffee, which was most of them. I started to get to know them as they passed by and said hello; a few of them stopped to chat when they had time.

It was a few days after I started that I first met Ken. He smiled politely over at me on his way to the file room and then stopped and looked back, obviously confused by the new face. I smiled and said hello. He came over and introduced himself and shook my hand. He was tall and thin and a nice looking man. I'm guessing early thirties. He had blond hair and friendly blue eyes.

"I'm Beth; I'm Captain Dobey's new secretary."

"Nice to meet you, Beth. I'm Detective Ken Hutchinson. Call me Ken." He smiled warmly yet he seemed a little distant somehow. _Lost_ is the best word to describe it. It wasn't until a week later that I realized what had been wrong.

"Oh, Starsk, I'd like you to meet someone," Ken said as he came into my desk area. "Beth, this is Detective David Starsky, my partner." I said hello to Dave and noticed a difference in Ken. He now had a spark and it was because his partner was back to work.

Dave was also a good looking man but much different than Ken. He was dark-haired and stocky and although he also had blue eyes, they were a darker blue. He looked a bit pale at the time and I learned later that he had been shot at a restaurant a few weeks earlier, poor thing. Turns out it was a mob hit that they just walked into.

It wasn't long until I realized that Ken and Dave were the 'particular pair' that Susan had alluded to. I looked forward to seeing the partners. Some days they headed to the file room and were so involved in their work, they didn't stop to say hello, but I didn't mind. I liked to watch them work. Most of the time they seemed to communicate with very little words and almost seemed to read each other's minds. Other days, they would be teasing each other. I only heard snippets of the conversations but they made me laugh.

"Come on, Starsk, it wasn't so bad."

"Whatya mean, it wasn't so bad? I had to _kiss_ him."

"Hey, at least you got rid of Terrible Tessie."

"Hmph, some _tovarish_ you turned out to be."

Other days they had time to sit and chat with me and they always made me laugh. One day, Dave was sitting on the corner of my desk and doing the harmless flirting he did with a lot of the women at the precinct. "Oh, Beth, if only you were a few years younger," he said with his adorable smile that I'd already seen melt most of the young women at the station. Ken came by just then.

"Hey, there is always a May-December romance, partner."

"Huh? Whatya mean?" Dave asked, his cheeks quickly turning pink.

I noticed Dave felt awkward around me after that and I missed our harmless flirting. I decided I needed to remedy that so I baked him and Ken a batch of my famous oatmeal butterscotch cookies. I left them each a foil wrapped box. Dave came in with a cookie in each hand chewing happily.

"Thank you, Beth, these are delicious."

I stood up and kissed him on the cheek. "You're welcome, Dave. You know, maybe I'll fix you up with my daughter." He thought about that for a moment and then that 1000-watt smile broke out on his face. After that, he stopped feeling awkward around me. I would have never fixed him up with my Sarah, though; his job is way too dangerous. I worried about those two boys.

Sometimes Ken and Dave would work night shifts and I wouldn't see them. Sometimes they were out on a stake-out or undercover and I worried about them like I would if they were my own sons. Quite often they were on assignment outside of the city – in Las Vegas or on a cruise ship. I always was happy to see them come back safe and sound. It became tradition that when we hadn't seen each other for a long time, I would bake them some cookies as a 'welcome back.'

I loved to see the guys together. It was obvious how much they cared about each other. Occasionally one or the other would come in with a black eye or be hurting in some way and the other one would take care of him. I've never seen two men care for each other that way. I came to love them and be proud of them.

Almost a year after I started I saw a change in Ken. His eyes sparkled when he spoke and he had a spring in his step. I knew he was in love. I asked him about her and he told me all about Gillian. I was so happy for him. It broke my heart when she died. Ken's eyes lost their light for a long time after that. I cried when I read the file. Both of my guys lost a special lady. Dave's girl was Terry and she was shot in the head by a crazy man who wanted Dave to suffer. I was afraid Dave was not going to recover from that loss. I attended the funeral and held him while he cried on my shoulder. Ken was right there by his side. It is as if they draw strength from one another. They are amazing men.

One night I was working late and Dave and Ken walked slowly by me. Ken was holding his back and walking funny. Dave was rubbing his jaw and I could see a bruise on his left eye.

"Hey, are you two okay?" I asked.

The guys stopped and assured me they were okay but I could tell by their conversation they were deeply involved in an investigation. I heard Dave sadly say "That poor dog," as they headed into the men's room. I was gathering my things to go home when they came out of laughing. I was always amazed at how they could deal with what they did and still be able to laugh.

"What's the line again, Blondie?"

"Aw, shut up."

Dave laughed and elbowed me in the ribs. "Come on, you have to practice for tomorrow."

"I wouldn't have to if you didn't crack your knuckles and ruin the scene!"

"Yeah, yeah. It was because you were doing the worst John Wayne impression ever when you said that line."

"That's not true. It was perfect." Ken looked at me for reassurance so I just nodded at him. That seemed to help.

"Come on, I'll buy you a beer." Dave slapped Ken on the back and shot me a wink over his shoulder. I had no idea what they were talking about but I went home with a smile on my face.

I remember the time when Ken came down with some horrible disease and came so close to dying. I hardly ever saw Dave then – he spent all his time either at the hospital or on the streets trying to find the man who would save everyone suffering from the disease. He did find him and saved Ken's life – saved a lot of lives. I went to visit Ken in the hospital and of course found Dave there by his side. They were closer than brothers, those two.

I enjoyed my job but it was very difficult to see what went on everyday and not be affected. I saw good men come in one morning and never make it home. I spoke to Captain Dobey and he offered to write a recommendation for me and help me find another job. He told me that not everyone was cut out to work in police work.

I had been looking for a job for about a week when Dave and Ken came into the precinct to speak to Captain Dobey. I couldn't help but laugh at them. Ken was wearing a ridiculous polyester suit and blond curly wig. Dave was dressed a little less oddly but when he spoke to me I could not understand a word he was saying. He sounded like Detective Clouseau from The Pink Panther movies. I started to laugh as Ken translated what Dave was saying but he sounded so flamboyant – a lot like my hairdresser. They both winked at me and walked arm and arm into the restroom. Captain Dobey was standing in the hallway watching them.

"Are you sure you want to leave this all behind, Beth?"

I did have second thoughts, I admit it. On my last day Ken and Dave brought me a big oatmeal butterscotch cookie with the words, "We'll miss you" written in icing. I cried as I said goodbye.

I like my new job at the law office but it will never be the same as working at Metro. I heard the other day Dave was shot and seriously wounded. He may not live. I couldn't stand to see the pain in Ken's eyes now. And if Dave doesn't make it...I think I made the right choice leaving.

The End


End file.
